Notes from gameplay:
Main menu:
- Text/buttons could be punched up. Some shadow might make it pop more
- Nice use of colors in the buttons to create visual interest. Maybe try different shades of green to work better with the background image
- background image is cool, immediately evokes a space theme
- I like how the text field changes color when text is added!
- back button on player name entry screen feels misplaced
- hmm, will I struggle with this as only one player? Single player would probably be a good default, and then all the work you've done for 2 players can be an extra additional mode.
- maybe make it "Go!" as a more exciting button to click?
Gameplay:
- Oh wow, there is a lot of momentum with the movement
- I lost to my (non-moving self) hahaha
- Sound would be nice
- Score seems to go below 0 (currently at -2.5)
- Ok, easier to beat myself when I know what's going on
- Audio will help a lot with this - music, noise when getting hit, maybe some sound when bouncing off the walls. It'll make the entire gameplay feel more exciting
- The momentum might be tuned a bit too high
- The momentum feels tuned too LOW in the bump/bounce mechanic where you hit the other player. Feels like it sucks up one player's momentum and isn't redirected to the next player
Comparison to previous version based on devlog comments:
- Definitely a LOT of improvement to the start screen! I think you can still tweak text and buttons, but you've made excellent progress here!
- I think making restart just restart the game was a smart choice. Maybe adjust where the back button is for the main menu, however
- Bullets obviously help with the gameplay :P
- Adding bounce off the wall was a FANTASTIC choice. Feels a lot more exciting and impactful
- The entire game board might benefit from some reskinning to fit the space theme
- Player number/name/score text could still be improved a lot. Maybe consider adding a border around each section for easy visibility as well
Overall, you've made a lot of progress since your last version! I think the UI could be punched up even more, but it's a fantastic first step in iterating on improving that. Gameplay is pretty fun, though a single-player mode would increase the number of players you'll pull - don't scrap 2 player, though, as that's a cool extra mechanic to have. The overall theming could lean in well to the space vibe you've started to build, like make the bullets little asteroids and make the players look more like ships, make the playing board a grid like a computer navigation screen in an 80s space movie, etc.
Maybe on next pass you can add additional levels or new mechanics, like GOOD items to collect? That would add some extra complexity and strategy, especially with the "bump" mechanic where you can bounce the other player out of the way/into stuff.
Nice work!